Nothing will ever stay the same
by Vickysg1
Summary: This was the end of an era; things were changing. Post-Series


Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.  
Author's Note: This was written for Week Two of the 10 Weeks of Nate/Sophie on nathan_sophie comm (Team Sophie). The prompt was 'Wedding Planner' (Prompt #4). There are obviously spoilers for the series finale. The title comes from _Falling Away With You_ by Muse. Many many thanks to my ever so wonderful beta, csiangel for the work she's doing.

###

Sophie woke up with Nate spooned against her back and his arms wrapped around her. Since he arrived in Portland and they started a real relationship, they had spent the night together more often than not. And now that she was thinking about it, since they stole _Ma Mystère_, they hadn't spent a single night apart. It just felt natural for her to be here with him; they were living together, even though neither of them had said those exact words, and she still had her own apartment.

Sunlight caught the diamond on her engagement ring, and she smiled. That was something she had never expected when she first met Nathan Ford. Taking him to bed, she knew that would happen eventually; the attraction was there from the beginning but he was married, and despite all her flirting, she would never have gone for a married man. And then, he divorced and they started working together. It had really only been a matter of time before something happened. And it did.

But this was something she had never thought about, not even after their friends with benefits affair had turned into a real relationship. He had taken her – and the rest of the team – completely by surprise the day before when he kneeled down and presented her with the ring. She had to take a couple of deep breaths before her mind was clear enough to listen to what he had to say. Not that she really needed to; everything was written right there on his face, and there was no mistaking what she was seeing there.

When he finally said the words – that Parker had insisted he said – it hadn't taken her long to say yes. She didn't have to think about it, she just knew; she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man, and if she sounded cheesy, she didn't care.

The man in question stretched behind her, before tightening his hold on her waist, spooning closer to her. She felt him press a kiss on her nape, and she smiled.

"Good morning," he said, his voice hoarse from sleep.

"Good morning," she replied, turning in his arms to face him.

He kissed her, long and slow, morning breath be damned. She moaned as one of his hands ran against her naked skin, raising goose bumps in its path. He rolled onto his back, bringing her on top of him. She smiled against his mouth; lazy morning sex was a favourite of hers. They didn't indulge in it very often - a shame if you want her opinion - but this morning, they had nothing to do, nowhere to go. They could take their time and enjoy this moment.

When the kiss came to a natural end, she pulled away slightly to look at him in the eyes and she smiled. Yes, if there was just one thing she would enjoy in this early retirement, it would be to be able to have mornings like these more often.

In the aftermath, she lay with her head on his shoulder, the fingers of his left hand running through her hair. His ministrations were soothing, and she was about to fall asleep again when he took her left hand with his free one. His thumb brushed against the diamond of her engagement ring, and she knew what his next words would be before he even opened his mouth.

"Do you really like it?"

She resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes, and propped herself on her elbow to look at him. She placed a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling back.

"It's perfect, Nate. I love it."

He raised his head to kiss her again, and she obliged.

"I am curious though," she said when the kiss came to an end.

"About what?"

"When did you get it? Or rather, when did you decide that you wanted to retire and marry me?"

"Do you remember me telling you that I had big plans?"

"Yes..."

"That was when. I knew coming to Portland that not only would we go after the black file, but that it would be our last job. When I said that my big plans involved you, I wasn't lying. You were always part of the plan." He paused, to let her take everything in, before continuing. "As for when I bought the ring, it was one of the first things I did when I arrived here."

"You, Nate Ford, are really a romantic man, even though you don't always show it."

"Only when it counts."

She settled back down with her head lying on his chest, and let out a little sigh. She had had a feeling the first time she saw him, that this man would never cease to surprise her, and she had been right.

"So now that your curiosity is settled, do you have any plans for the wedding you would like to share?" he asked.

"I don't want a big wedding. You and I both had a big wedding before, and I don't think either of us is ready to go through all that again."

She had a bit of apprehension when she briefly mentioned her first wedding, as she had never really told him about William before, but he didn't ask any questions; he would respect her privacy and wait for her to share this part of her with him, whenever she was ready. She doubted it would happen any time soon but as she had told him before, she appreciated him trusting her.

"Agreed. A small affair would be better. How many guests are you thinking about?"

"Just the five of us. I don't need anyone else there."

"Not even Maggie?"

"Darling, you know that Maggie is my friend and I love her, but don't you think it'll be a little weird to have your ex-wife there?" she asked and she felt him nod before he dropped a kiss in her hair. "And, like I said, I just want something intimate, with just Parker, Eliot and Hardison, and a judge to marry us."

"You want a judge to marry us? Wouldn't that be a little ironic considering what we did for a living?"

"Yes. Imagine the looks on the team's faces when we tell them about this," she said, starting to laugh, and Nate followed.

"Alright alright," he said when they calmed down. "Now, tell me this: how long have you been planning this little wedding of yours? It sounds too precise for you to have thought about all this in the past few hours only."

"It's just the kind of weddings I always wanted to have. Quiet, intimate, short; I don't need anything else. But if you want something different..." she started, but he interrupted her.

"It's perfect, Soph. Really perfect."

"Well then, darling, we should really get up and go get that marriage license."

Knowing that she had to make the first move, otherwise they would end up staying in bed all day, she left the comfort of his arms and bed and wrapped her bathrobe around hersef. She was about to enter the bathroom when she turned around towards him.

"I thought we could share a shower to save some time but if you'd rather stay here..."

She didn't have to say it twice; he was out of bed and pushing her into the bathroom in the next second.

###

The marriage license had been taken care of; Sophie Devereaux was going to marry Nathan Ford. Nate had been surprised when he saw her write her alias down on the paper, but she had quickly explained to him that she had asked Hardison to legally change her name a few months ago.

"I just can't let go of Sophie," she had added, and he had immediately understood; he couldn't let go of her either.

They had also chosen a date, and now all that was left to do was telling the rest of the team about it. They were walking hand in hand towards the brew pub, and Sophie knew that Nate had something on his mind because he looked distracted. She knew him, and he wouldn't talk to her until he was ready to do so, and she was okay with it. For the moment though, he looked like she needed him to change his mind.

"So what is the next part of your big plans?" she asked.

"There is no next part. My big plans came to an end yesterday night."

"What? You mean that you don't know where we go from there?"

"I'm saying that whatever happens next will be as much your decision as it will be mine. I don't want to be the only one to decide about our lives anymore."

She was more moved by his words than she should have been really. But at the same time, she knew what it meant for him to release control to someone else.

"I guess that we'll have to decide where we're going to live. Somewhere less rainy," she added; her hair really didn't like the rain.

"I'll let you choose this time."

"I thought we were going to make these kinds of decisions together?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes. But I was the one who chose Portland, and before that, I chose Boston. And Los Angeles in a way. So where do you want to go?"

She didn't really have time to think about it since he told her they were leaving the night before. And truth be told, she had thought he had something in mind already.

"Ok, that will need some thinking. But we're in no hurry, right?"

"Right. And if you want to stay here in Portland and continue working with your company, I'll be fine with that."

That she didn't have to think about before she gave him an answer.

"No. We need to leave Portland. Parker, Eliot and Hardison don't need us anymore, and by staying here, we would give them excuses to run things by us before they make their decisions," she said, and he nodded, having obviously already thought about that. "And as for my company, I can still form a new one wherever we end up settling."

"And you want to live somewhere less rainy," he repeated what she said earlier.

"That too." She paused, and let out a sigh. "It will be weird though not to see them every day."

"We went our separate ways before."

"You know what I mean," she countered. "I know things change, and I'm ready to accept those changes," she quickly added; she didn't want him to think that she might be changing her mind. "It's just..."

"We became a family, and it's hard to say goodbye to your family," he finished for her.

It was strange for Sophie to hear Nate say these words aloud. It was true, they did become a family, but it wasn't something they ever mentioned out loud. And she certainly hadn't expected him to be the first one to voice it; after all, he had been quite reluctant to let them close to him at first.

She stopped, forcing him to do the same. He turned towards her with a questioning look on his face, and she just kissed him, before resting her forehead against his.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Just... Being you."

They resumed walking towards the brew pub, and once there, they sat at a table instead of going to the back rooms as they usually would have done. Amy came to take their order, giving them a curious look, and finally congratulating them when she saw the ring on Sophie's finger.

"Why didn't you come inside?" Parker asked, when she and Hardison joined them at the table.

"It's not our place to be anymore," Sophie replied.

Parker was about to protest but Hardison put a hand on her arm to stop her. Sophie knew that it would take some time for them all to adapt to the new situation; it was after all a big change for them after five years together.

After a little while, Eliot joined them, bringing with him the two plates he had obviously prepared for Nate and Sophie.

"So did you two set a date?" Hardison asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes we did."

"And...?" Eliot prompted when it was obvious Nate wasn't going to say more.

"We're getting married on Friday," Sophie replied.

"But that's only three days from now!" Parker exclaimed.

"And exactly the number of days we need to wait before our marriage license is issued to us," Nate said.

"That doesn't leave us a lot of time to prepare everything, but we'll manage," the thief said with a determined look on her face.

"Everything is set, Parker," Sophie reassured her. "It will only be the five of us and a judge to marry us in his office," she explained, and as they expected, the team was surprised by this. "We don't need anything more. Ok, maybe a bouquet, but that can be easily arranged."

"Well, we do need rings, too," Nate replied and she turned to him with a smile.

"Don't worry, darling. I certainly wasn't about to let you forget about the rings."

Leaning towards him, she kissed him, before returning her gaze to her friends. She could see that Parker was surprised by how fast everything was going. She wasn't upset, just surprised.

"And then, you're going to leave?"

"Yes," Sophie answered Parker. "We haven't decided where we're going yet," she added, pre-empting further questioning on this subject.

"So, just the five of us in a judge's office," Hardison summarised. "Parker and Eliot will be your witnesses, and I will film the whole ceremony."

"It'd better not end up on the internet," Nate warned.

"You will have the only copy, I promise. Ok, I may keep a back-up copy just in case. You know it served us well in the past," he reminded them.

"Having a video would be nice," Sophie admitted. "But are you sure you don't want to participate in the ceremony in some other way, Hardison?" she asked, not wanting to exclude him.

"I can be the ring bearer too," he offered.

"Aren't ring bearers small boys, usually?" Eliot replied prompting Hardison to glare at him.

The two started to bicker, with Parker interrupting them here and there, and Nate and Sophie shared a smile; no matter what happened, there were some things that would just never change.

###

Sophie had heard that women were sometimes nervous on their wedding day, but it wasn't her case. She was a bit excited about the upcoming ceremony – but who wouldn't be on their wedding day – but otherwise calm. She knew she had made the right choice by saying yes to Nate's proposal, and she knew she would again make the right choice by saying 'I do' in a few minutes.

That was, if her future husband ever showed up.

She hadn't seen Nate since the night before; Parker had insisted that they respected this tradition and spent the night apart, and she didn't have the heart to say no. But the judge was set to ask them in his office any minute now, and he had yet to arrive. She had called him, and they were running late – something to do with Hardison wanting to drive here in the latest Lucille and Eliot hiding his keys – but they should hopefully be here soon. She just knew that they should have come here together.

Sophie was quite calm about the whole situation, and if she wasn't above speaking her mind to them when they finally arrived, it was Parker they should be worrying about. If the murderous look she was now sporting on her face was any indication, they were in trouble. She had confided in Sophie the night before that she wanted everything to be perfect for them, and right now, they were far from there.

Finally, they saw the men walking in their direction, and Sophie let out a sigh of relief; she didn't want to imagine what would have happened if the judge had called them and they weren't there.

"I was starting to think you had changed your mind," Sophie said when Nate came to a stop before her.

"Never. How much trouble are we in?" he asked sotto voce, nodding towards Parker.

"_You_ are in no trouble at all, darling. Hardison and Eliot, on the other hand..."

"Yes, I figured," he replied, as the young thief was admonishing their two friends.

"Lucille, really?"

"Hardison thought that since Lucille was as much part of the team as the rest of us, we had to drive here in the van. Eliot, obviously, didn't agree."

"What about you?"

"I just wanted to get here, I didn't care what kind of vehicle we were taking."

"Good answer," she replied, leaning in to kiss him.

"Hey, you'll have time for that later," Eliot interrupted them. "It's your turn," he added, nodding towards the judge who was looking at them with a small smile on his face.

"Well, are you ready to become Mrs. Ford?" Nate asked, holding out his hand to her.

"More than ever," she replied, smiling and placing her hand in his.

Fin.


End file.
